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John Oliver‘s first guest on the debut episode of Last Week Tonight will be Gen. Keith Alexander, HBO announced on Thursday.
Conducting his first interview since he retired as director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command, Alexander will be the landmark guest on the topical half-hour comedy series when it debuts on Sunday night at 11 p.m.
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Gen. Alexander announced his intended departure from the NSA in October 2013 [along with his deputy John C. Inglis], following four months of spying revelations sparked by former contractor Edward Snowden. On March 28, he officially ended his 39-year army career.
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According to HBO, Last Week Tonight will be taped on Sunday evenings in New York a few hours before it debuts on HBO, and each edition of the show “will feature a mix of Oliver’s topical commentary on the previous week’s events, pre-taped pieces and an interview.”
In the run up to his big debut, the former Daily Show comedian visited Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, where the pair talked about his appearance on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. “You’re on the cover of a magazine,” said Fallon, as he pulled out the May 2 issue.
“That is a giant, giant magazine.” (Read Oliver’s THR cover story here.)
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The bashful British host admitted that it still feels strange to see himself on newsstands. “That was weird,” he said, adding that he’s no Jimmy when it comes to mag covers. “You have a face that behooves being on a magazine.”
Oliver recently told THR that being the boss is also a new experience for him. “As a comedian, your whole life you’re kind of trained to avoid authority,” he explained. “So to suddenly be the authority is a very, very bizarre situation.”
Last Week Tonight premieres on Sunday on HBO at 11 p.m.
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